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Place: Kahnasutra Indian Restaurant Phuket Town
Date: Saturday 28th Feb
Time: Early evening onwards
After playing football with his friends in Phuket Town on Saturday 7th Feb, Josh borrowed a bike from a friend and headed back to his room to shower and change. Later that evening, another bike carrying a lady and her two children pulled out into the main road without looking; he swerved to avoid them and crashed.
He suffered a variety of injuries including three broken toes, several deep gashes to his torso, arms and feet. His neck, shoulders and arms black with bruising. Most worryingly, he cracked his head on the tarmac causing a severe blood clot and brain swelling.
The injuries to his body are slowly healing but he still has no idea what happened; some basic language is returning, as are some images from before the accident, but he doesn't recognise his friends and seems incapable of creating new memories.
He was brought to The Bangkok Phuket Hospital who treated him immediately and probably saved his life. However, when it became apparent that there was no insurance and that his family did not have the funds to cover the bill, they stopped treatment. BPH is a private, profit-making business and this is acceptable.
What is not acceptable is that they then refused to let his friends check him out of their five star hotel/hospital and take him to a State run hospital who would have happily treated him.
He was finally released when, screaming in pain, his thumbprint was forced onto the invoice like a criminal. By the time he reached the State hospital he had an infection in his foot because of a dirty wound which had not been cleaned in two days.
Josh did not ask to be taken to this hospital and did not deserve this treatment; but here's the real question; did the "ambulance" driver who brought him there receive a commission? Why wasn't he taken to the State hospital which was actually nearer to where the accident happened?
At the end of the day, none of this matters. What matters is that we have a wonderful young man who needs to return to the loving embrace of his family and the British National Health Service.
Many thanks to The Adventure Club and The Sportsbar in Phi Phi who helped in many ways, not least in raising over 75,000 Baht to cover some of Josh's medical expenses.
Thanks also to Kahnasutra Indian Restaurant in Phuket Town for organising a football tournament followed by buffet, drinks and a raffle; Saturday 28th Feb; some really great prizes have been donated.
If you're going for a drink next week, please go to O'Malley's Irish Pub in Phuket Town where the owner has promised 20% of all income to Josh, culminating in an evening of live music etc etc on Saturday 7th March when all profits will go to helping our friend.
It's good to know that in this cynical world, with times so hard for so many, that the Expat community here are capable of such generosity. If this had happened to someone else, Josh would have worked harder than anyone to help.
